Power ranking the Top 5 players in Major League Baseball

Power ranking the Top 5 players in Major League Baseball

We live in a great time for baseball, and for watching great baseball players. Dozens of excellent ones were considered for the following list, but it features only the very best in Major League Baseball. Here are my rankings of the Top 5 players in MLB:

5. Miguel Cabrera

(PHOTO: Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

Some will object to Cabrera landing in only fifth place on this list, others will wonder how he cracked the Top 5 at all. The two-time AL MVP is having a down year by his standards, but a) he’s still a really, really good hitter even in this down year and b) he deserves a quasi-mulligan for having been the best hitter in the game for the five years before this one.

Cabrera doesn’t rank higher here because he’s limited defensively. But it seems premature to assume his diminished production this season means he’s certainly done as the best offensive player in the game at age 31. He’s unlikely to live up to the massive contract extension that will pay him $32 million when he’s 40, but don’t bet against a resurgent season from the nine-time All-Star in 2015.

4. Felix Hernandez

(PHOTO: Anthony Gruppuso/USA TODAY Sports)

Is King Felix somehow underrated? It feels that way. He pitches for the Mariners, which limits both his national exposure and his wins total. And a handful of other pitchers have been better than Hernandez on a one-season basis of late.

But Hernandez has been consistent, and consistently healthy — making at least 30 starts every season since his first full year in the Majors in 2006. He ranks in the Top 5 among starters in about every meaningful pitching stat over the last five years. And though it seems like he’s been around forever, Hernandez is still only 28 years old.

3. Andrew McCutchen

(PHOTO: Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports)

McCutchen won a well-deserved NL MVP in 2013 and has actually hit a bit better in 2014. Outside of his extraordinary hair game, he’s not quite the best in the Majors at anything: He’s a great hitter, but not Cabrera. He’s solid in center field, but he’s no Carlos Gomez. He steals bases and hits home runs, but never enough to lead the league in either category.

But McCutchen is simply a great all-around baseball player entering the thick of his prime years. It’s early yet, but it’s looking like McCutchen could wind up with another MVP this season if the Pirates stay in the postseason hunt. He’s third in the NL in Wins Above Replacement in 2014, behind only Troy Tulowitzki — who is good enough but not healthy enough for this list — and Yasiel Puig, who only missed the Top 5 because he hasn’t played two full seasons yet.

2. Clayton Kershaw

(GIF via SBNation.com)

Ready for this? Since the start of the 2009 season — Kershaw’s first as a full-time Major Leaguer — the Dodgers’ ace leads all MLB starters in wins, ERA, FIP (fielding independent pitching), WAR (wins above replacement), strikeouts, shutouts, batting average against, WHIP, and home-run rate.

As we speak, Kershaw is having one of the best pitching seasons in history, with real evidence to indicate he has somehow gotten even better in 2014. He will very likely lead the NL in ERA for the fourth straight year. We’re in the midst of a great era for pitching in Major League Baseball, and Kershaw is the best pitcher going. And it’s not terribly close.

1. Mike Trout

(PHOTO: Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

I beat this drum a whole lot, but it doesn’t seem like people quite grasp how good Mike Trout has been in his first few Major League seasons. Maybe this post from Fangraphs will help: Trout is in the midst of one of the best three-year stretches in baseball history. Everyone who has ever been this good for three years — at any point in their careers — is either an inner-circle Hall of Fame or Barry Bonds.

The kicker? Trout has only been playing for three years. The guy doesn’t turn 23 until later this week. If Trout keeps going like this — or anywhere close, even — he’ll get his due credit eventually. But for now, you’re going to want to do everything you can to get out to see Mike Trout play whenever the Angels come to your nearest ballpark so you can someday brag to your grandkids that you did.

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